Indiana 7th grade reading list

The 633 books most commonly assigned to Indiana 7th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Books633Lexile410L–1300LSourceIndiana Academic Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for Indiana 7th grade

These are the 29 titles named in Indiana’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

    Get it on Amazon

  2. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, resilience and self-reliance. At 1020L it falls inside the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  3. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  4. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers growing up, friendship and self-acceptance. At 410L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  5. Among the Hidden

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers freedom, identity and resistance.

    Get it on Amazon

  6. Cryptid Hunters

    Roland Smith

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers survival, mystery and family.

    Get it on Amazon

  7. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, fairy-tale and independence.

    Get it on Amazon

  8. Forged by Fire

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers abuse, family and resilience.

    Get it on Amazon

  9. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  10. Gregor the Overlander

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, courage and destiny.

    Get it on Amazon

  11. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

    Richard Paul Evans

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers powers, friendship and courage.

    Get it on Amazon

  12. Mick Harte Was Here

    Barbara Park

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers grief, family and safety.

    Get it on Amazon

  13. Orbiting Jupiter

    Gary D. Schmidt

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers fatherhood, loss and compassion.

    Get it on Amazon

  14. Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 9. Covers refugees, survival and family. At 800L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  15. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  16. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  17. Romiette and Julio

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers love, prejudice and courage.

    Get it on Amazon

  18. Saving Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers loyalty, forgiveness and community.

    Get it on Amazon

  19. Scythe

    Neal Shusterman

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers mortality, power and ethics.

    Get it on Amazon

  20. So B. It

    Sarah Weeks

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers family, identity and journey.

    Get it on Amazon

  21. Stargirl

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers individuality, conformity and first love.

    Get it on Amazon

  22. The Doom Stone

    Paul Zindel

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers survival, science and fear.

    Get it on Amazon

  23. The House of the Scorpion

    Nancy Farmer

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers identity, freedom and cloning.

    Get it on Amazon

  24. The Hunger Games

    Suzanne Collins

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 6 to 9. Covers authoritarianism, survival, media and spectacle. At 810L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  25. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

  26. The Selection

    Kiera Cass

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 12. Covers class, choice and love.

    Get it on Amazon

  27. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

    Ann Brashares

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 7 to 10. Covers friendship, growing up and family.

    Get it on Amazon

  28. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers ghosts, family and jealousy.

    Get it on Amazon

  29. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Indiana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it sits just under the 925–1185L band for this grade.

    Get it on Amazon

633 books cited for Indiana 7th grade

Assignments tied directly to Indiana’s Indiana Academic Standards or national curricula with a Indiana-specific citation.

Show all 633 titles

Reading the whole Indiana 7th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Know a parent or teacher who needs this? Share it:FacebookPinterest

Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Indiana grades

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

6th grade · 8th grade · 5th grade · 9th grade

Same 7th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 7th grade reading by theme

About the Indiana 7th grade reading list

In Indiana schools, 7th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Indiana Academic Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 633 titles for 7th grade in Indiana, each tied to a Indiana-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1300L.

7th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 61 titles here with a Lexile score 9 are grade-level, 51 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 1 is a stretch text that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 7th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Indiana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Indiana Academic Standards (in.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 7th grade list below blends Indiana-specific assignments with the widely-taught national canon. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 7th grade unit can pair a Indiana-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

How many books are assigned to 7th grade students in Indiana?
633 books appear on ReadingList for 7th grade students in Indiana, sourced from Indiana Academic Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 7th grade reading in Indiana?
Lexile measures across the 7th grade Indiana reading list range from 410L to 1300L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference Indiana Academic Standards (published at www.in.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Indiana schools: Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English Literature and Language, IB Diploma Programme, and Cambridge Assessment International. Every assignment row on each book's detail page links its primary source.

Reading guides for parents

▸Embed this list on your site

Copy + paste this snippet into any school newsletter, classroom blog, library site, or homeschool resource page. The embed shows the top 12 titles and links back to the full list. Updates automatically when ReadingList’s data changes.

<iframe src="https://readinglist.school/embed/grade/7" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="7th grade reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/grade/7 · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

State-specific entries sourced from www.in.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.